Her Saviour
by Lumiellie
Summary: Heather Potter is being abused by the Dursleys when Severus Snape is forced to check up on her. He does his best to heal her mentally and emotionally but soon realizes how deep the damage goes.
1. Saving Her

_Author's note at the end._

"So you're telling me that _I_ have to check up on Potter because Arabella Figg is currently in Hawaii?" Severus Snape said, looking at Headmaster Dumbledore with contempt.

"I can't find anyone else to do it. Rubeus is out of the country, Minerva is currently on a mission for the Order, and I'm up to my knees in paperwork," Dumbledore stated, his blue eyes twinkling. He was unfazed by the glare sent from Severus.

"And you seem to think that I'm not busy?"

"Precisely," Dumbledore said, "You spend too much time making Potions in your lab."

"Well I clearly have people that want to be around me-" Severus started to say before Dumbledore interrupted.

"I need it done Severus. And I'm having a hard time finding someone to do it."

"Fine, I'll do it then!" Severus snapped but calmed down quickly, "Where do I go to do it? I want to get it over with as quickly as I can."

Dumbledore dipped a Phoenix-feather quill into glittery purple ink and proceeded to write _Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey,_ on a piece of parchment.

"The ink will only be readable to the two of us. To anyone else, it will appear to be gibberish," Dumbledore said.

"And what will I be doing exactly?" Severus asked.

"You'll just be checking up on Heather to make sure she's doing okay. I hope Vernon and Petunia have been taking good care of her." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling once again, "Good luck on your mission and if need be, bring her back."

"Well I'll be on my way then," Severus said, leaving Dumbledore's office.

 _Potter's probably spoiled rotten and gets everything she wants. She's probably going to be as arrogant as her father. She'll never be abused like I was. In fact, she'll likely be the one who abuses people._ Severus thought as he swiftly walked down the hallway, his black robes drifting behind him. He made quick work of leaving the school once he was outside. Rainy weather truly annoyed him. Once Severus was far enough, he apparated, knowing that no one could apparate into or out of the school grounds.

He apparated into an uninhabited alleyway. Trusting that no muggles were nearby, he changed his black robes into something more sensible with his wand; a white t-shirt, an emerald green jumper, and jeans. Despite the summertime season, it was cold and he wanted nothing more than to feel the heat of a flame underneath a cauldron.

Rain kept on hitting him directly in the face as he walked towards the Dursley residence. Severus didn't care. The sooner he got this over, the better it would be for anyone. His "okay" mood was steadily dropping, especially after one muggle had the audacity to splash him with their automobile. After a quick glare, the driver thankfully apologized and

When he walked into Petunia's neighbourhood, Severus was disgusted by the monotony of the homes and how similar they appeared to be. He quickly found number four and walked up the steps, hardly noticing the near-perfect garden that stood out. The only thing he focused on was checking on Harriet and going home.

As soon as he knocked on the door, a grossly obese boy answered. "Mum, there's a stranger at the door," he whined.

There were quick footsteps and before he knew it, he was standing face-to-face with Petunia Dursley.

"I'm here to check up on Potter. Can I see her?" Severus said, clearly annoyed with the task he was asked to do.

Petunia visibly appeared nervous and quivered a little bit. She changed the subject. "You. Never thought I'd see you again, Snape."

"Same goes for you, _Petunia_ ," Snape demeaned, noticing the woman's attempts to change the subject. However, he didn't let that stop him. "Now where is she?

"She's not here. I don't know where she is, but she left this morning to go to a friends house," she said as she fidgeted a bit.

Severus stared at her horse-like face and could hear the lies in her voice, "No really, where is she?" He asked.

"I said she wasn't here! Now leave before the neighbours will notice."

"Isn't the freak in her cupboard?" the obese boy said, his mouth full of chocolate.

Petunia looked absolutely livid at her son but managed to keep her voice at a kind level. "Dudley, why don't you go play in your room for a bit. This man and I need to have a conversation."

"Yes Mum," Dudley said as he ran up the stairs, purposely stomping on them.

"I hope you don't mind if I search the house then," Severus demanded, stepping inside.

"You won't find _anything,_ " Petunia said as she tried to hold the man back. She clearly did not want Severus in her house.

Severus broke through her grip, "Then why are you holding me back?" he asked.

Petunia looked absolutely ashamed as she moved her arms back to her sides. " _Fine,_ you can search the house."

Severus took this as a sign to look for the cupboard which Dudley had mentioned Potter was in. He highly doubted that she was in there as a punishment. _She probably chose to go in there willingly,_ he thought, _but I'll need to check on her to make sure that she's okay. Only to satisfy Dumbledore. It's not like I'd ever do this on purpose._

He opened the door of the cupboard of the door and the overpowering odour of blood hit him. He looked and he saw Potter, curled up in a little ball. Luckily she wasn't covered in her own blood, but there was dried blood on the sheets. Both of her ankles were swollen to twice the size they should be and she barely looked like she was five, despite being nine. _And she looks so much like Lily,_ Severus thought.

"Who are you," the child whispered, her emerald eyes clouded with fear.

"I'm Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry," Severus reassured, not wanting to scare the fragile child.

"Vernon says magic isn't real," Heather murmured, her voice sounding hoarse.

"It is, but I'll explain later Pott-Heather. I'm getting you out of here."

"Where am I going?"

"You're going to a magical place where everyone knows who you are."

Severus gently picked up the child, placing his arms under her knees and back. He carefully removed himself from the cupboard. _I don't understand how they could have done that to her. If I can't feel comfortable in that cupboard, there's no way that she can,_ Severus thought. The child flinched but quickly shifted herself in the man's arms, presumably to make herself more comfortable.

"Petunia, how dare you? You call yourself a mother and yet you let _this_ happen to a child. To make it even worse, she looks just like your sister. Why would you do this?" Severus yelled.

"Because she's a freak, that's why. Freaks don't deserve to be called human because they're an abomination of human nature," Petunia

"Well you're never going to see Heather again! And you better expect that you'll be punished! I'm taking her to a place where she'll be loved."

Petunia huffed.

Severus promptly walked outside and slammed the door. The rain was still pouring down and as approached an area suitable to apparate at. Heather began crying. "What's wrong Heather?" Severus asked.

"Hurts," she whined.

"I imagine you do hurt. But if you close your eyes, everything will be alright."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

When the strange man picked me up and took me out of the cupboard, I had never been more thankful in my life. Last night, I had received a terrible beating from Uncle Vernon. He was very drunk, never a good sign, and he pushed me down the stairs, resulting in both of my ankles swelling up. They hurt badly.

Then he proceeded to punch me until I could barely stand up. When my injured ankles couldn't take anymore, I collapsed and he kicked my stomach repeatedly. I didn't dare to cry though.

But the worst part was when he beat me with his belt. I didn't cry out, but I wanted to. Thankfully I passed out but I couldn't do any chores today. Aunt Petunia yelled at me, but she didn't force me to do anything. I was thankful for that.

So when the stranger picked me up in his arms, I couldn't help but to cry. Not only was I in pain, but I was also being removed from the one place that I had never been happy.

When I told the man that everything hurt, he believed me. He told me to close my eyes and I did.

But then I felt a dreadful feeling. I was being pulled through a tube that didn't seem to have an end. My body was being flipped inside-out and it wouldn't stop. I felt a feeling of nausea overwhelm me and I had the sudden urge to vomit and it wouldn't go away.

When the feeling stopped, I looked around and saw a castle in the distance. I wondered where I was, but before I could think about that, my stomach contracted and I threw up all over the man. The man glared at me and I started bawling. "Potter, in my ten years of teaching, I have never had a student throw up on me. This is absolutely vile."

I cried harder out of embarrassment. I couldn't control it. I just closed my eyes and slipped away from the moment. I let the rain drip down my cheeks, hoping it would just wash me away. Then I slipped into the darkness.

I felt absolutely disgusted when Potter- no Heather threw up on me. I had the overwhelming feeling that she purposely did it to anger me. Then I remembered that I had just side-along apparated with her and it made me sick the first time. In fact, it made most people vomit the first time. I wanted to apologize to the kid, but she had closed her eyes once again. And I was thankful for that! I didn't have to listen to her cry and realize how cruel I'd been.

Thankfully, I reached the infirmary in record-time and Poppy was shocked by what she saw. "What is this?"

"It's Heather Potter," I whispered, hoping not to wake the child up.

"This can't be! The child was supposed to be loved. She saved us all from He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named! And here she is, covered in her own blood."

Sadly nodding, I set her down on a bed, noticing how Heather didn't make a single sound. I stroked her blood-matted hair as Poppy cast a diagnosis charm on Heather and a quill wrote everything down on Parchment. I sighed, hoping that the injuries weren't too severe, but judging by what I'd seen so far, I could only hope

" _Egritudo,"_ Poppy whispered.

A quill began writing everything down on a piece of paper.

 _ **Heather Lily Potter**_

 _ **Age: 8 years, 353 days**_

 _ **Height: 37 inches**_

 _ **Weight: 40 pounds**_

 _ **Extremely malnourished**_

 _ **Injuries (listed in order of severity)**_

 _ **Ruptured spleen (must be fixed immediately)**_

 _ **Punctured lung (must be fixed)**_

 _ **Fractured pelvis**_

 _ **Shattered right ulna**_

 _ **Moderate concussion**_

 _ **Second-degree burns on back and hands**_

 _ **Fractured left tibia and fibula**_

 _ **Five broken ribs**_

 _ **Bruised bladder**_

 _ **Broken fingers**_

 _ **Illnesses:**_

 _ **Asthma**_

 _ **Fever**_

 _ **Other notes:**_

 _ **Possible child abuse**_

 _ **URGENT MEDICAL CARE IS REQUIRED**_

 _ **FULL RECOVERY IS NOT GUARANTEED**_

 _ **MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL TRAUMA WILL LIKELY PERSIST**_

"What happened?" Poppy asked.

"The Dursleys happened," I replied with extreme contempt in my voice.

* * *

 _Hello. I know I haven't written in a little while, but I haven't had very many ideas and I've been rather busy with life in general. However, I'm planning to update this story around 5:00 MST every Tuesday. It's my first time following a strict schedule, but I hope it works out._


	2. Promises

_Authors note at the end._

* * *

 **Previously...**

" _What happened?" Poppy asked._

" _The Dursleys happened," I replied with extreme contempt in my voice._

* * *

I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot in my spot, wanting to see the results of the exam, yet I knew that they were going to be absolutely terrible. I'd seen Heather, I knew how she was hurt.

When the spell finally finished, Poppy nudged me. I took a look at the piece of parchment and gasped. _They really hurt her. She didn't do anything to deserve this,_ I thought, _no wonder she cried when I picked her up._

"This is absolutely terrible!" Poppy exclaimed, "No child should experience this."

"I agree, but the Dursleys clearly don't," I say, grasping the piece of paper out of Poppy's hands. I look at it once again to make sure I wasn't hallucinating when I saw it the first time, but I wasn't. Every single injury was still listed there. "What's the course of action?" I ask.

Poppy had her stethoscope on the heart of the child. "Severus, you know that I'm not able to deal with severe injuries such as these. I may be skilled, but I'm not able to perform surgery. Heather needs her spleen removed otherwise the amount of internal bleeding that she has will increase. And it's already rather high. Her heart rate is extremely high, suggesting that there isn't very much blood in her system to pump around."

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked.

"I want you to keep an eye on Heather while I Floo to St. Mungos. I need someone who can actually perform this surgery for me. My specialty is pediatrics, not general surgery and I've never removed a spleen before. Just please watch her."

I really had no choice in the matter as Poppy Flooed away, leaving me and the sleeping child. Wait-cut that. The child wasn't sleeping anymore. In fact, her green eyes were as wide as could be. "Where am I?" she demanded before her face twisted into a look of recognition.

"You saved me," she said.

I wanted to roll my eyes and let her know how dramatic she was being, but then I remembered that she had likely never experienced such kindness from someone, let alone have someone save her from her terrible family. "I did save you," I said.

"Where am I?" she asked, her precious green eyes clouded with fear.

"You're at the Hogwarts hospital wing. I rescued you from your terrible relatives," I explained, hoping Heather wouldn't question me- or Hogwarts.

My hopes were shattered as she asked, "What's Hogwarts?"

I wracked my brain for the best possible way to explain Magic to her. As soon as words left my mouth, I began to doubt them, "Hogwarts is a magical school where every person who has magic learns how to explore their magical capabilities. People go there to learn how to control their magic. And you'll be going there when you're eleven. The school has a hospital wing because people have a tendency to get injured here- mostly because they're dunderheads or that special sort."

Heather just nodded her head and I felt grateful that I didn't have to explain magic to her. Honestly, I wasn't feeling up to it at the present moment and I knew that if I tried, I wouldn't be able to.

I heard the Floo go off and in came Poppy, along with a woman I had never seen before. The other woman had blonde hair pulled back into a low bun and her blue eyes were hidden behind circular glasses. "My name is Surgeon Katia Marshall and I work as a general surgeon at St. Mungos."

I shook hands with the Healer and I couldn't help but notice that she kept sneaking glances at Heather, who had now closed her eyes. I heard Katia mutter, "Poor child," under her breath as she grabbed a pair of gloves that had been spelled to keep all types of magical and muggle bacteria away.

"I hope you aren't squeamish," Katia said, "There's going to be a lot of blood. Can you do me a favour and change her clothes to a disposable hospital gown. I'll be needing to cut her open."

I nodded. I picked up a hospital gown and muttered a clothes-switching spell to change Heather's clothes. Once the spell worked, I held her clothes in my hands and she was wearing the hospital gown. The healer muttered a spell to sedate Heather. The familiar green eyes closed and Katia got to work.

The healer performed a cutting spell on the upper left quadrant of Heather's body and quickly got to work removing the spleen, which was ruptured beyond repair. Once that had finished, she performed a healing spell on the surgical scar which nearly disappeared. Her spleen was neatly disposed of in a jar. "Is there anything else that I should heal."

With a solemn face, Poppy handed Katia a list and the healer sighed, "Oh dear," as she quickly got to work.

* * *

Severus sat in a rocking chair as he waited for Heather to awake from her slumber. Katia had healed the intensive wounds, but there were a few precautions that had to be taken. He was anxious to hear what they were, but Katia wouldn't reveal them until Heather had awakened.

After what seemed to be two hours, Heather's eyes fluttered open and she had awoken. As soon as the child had awakened, her face paled as she sat up. Katia reached for a bucket and handed it to Katia who looked on the verge of vomiting. The child retched into the bucket, vomiting up everything in her system.

Severus got out of the grey rocking chair and took to patting the sick child on her back. "It's okay Heather," he muttered.

"It's actually quite normal after surgery," Katia soothed, "Anyways, there were some conditions I wanted to inform you about."

Both Severus and Katia nodded their heads.

"Heather will be unable to walk for an indefinite period of time. Her ankle has been broken at least five times and it never healed properly once, thus I had to break it five times and set it in the correct position. There's a bandage on it and I've cast it to remain rigid and immobile. However, I'd like to see it in a week to see how it's doing. There are several ways that muggles get around with broken limbs, such as wheelchairs or crutches, so Heather could use one of those alternatives," Katia explained, gesturing to the bandage on Heather's leg.

"I'll look into it," Severus said, clearly outraged. Not only had the muggles abused Lily's child, but they had also neglected to take her to a proper doctor when she'd been injured.

"She also had a punctured lung caused by a rib poking into it. I fixed that and healed all of her broken bones. Nothing had been broken to the extent that her ankle had been broken, but I'd advise against any strenuous activity in the next month or so. By far, her worst break other than her ankle was her pelvis. It likely had been broken quite recently because such a strong blow had bruised her bladder. Due to this being an extremely rare wizarding injury, I decided to put a catheter in so she can expel waste from her body. We can look at having that removed in one or two weeks. The tubing is connected to a bag that should be emptied every twelve to fourteen hours. As well, she shouldn't be moving around with her pelvis fracture as it's likely to be painful for quite a little bit."

Heather nodded, blushing.

"One last thing is that she has a muggle condition called Asthma. It's characterized by mucus collecting in her lungs. It can be fatal if left untreated. When this condition acts up, it's called an "Asthma attack" and she'll need something called an inhaler to stabilize her condition. As well, she'll need to use an inhaler every morning and every night to help prevent attacks. Since it's a muggle condition, it can't be cured with wizarding medicine. That's why she has to use an inhaler."

Poppy added in, "There's also some potions that will work. I have no doubts that Severus can provide them."

"I agree. Severus, can you?" Katia asked.

"Of course," Severus said, "Any objections to that Heather?"

"No sir," Heather whimpered, clenching her jaw in pain. The child's face was clenched together and her eyes were closed.

"Poppy, have you given her a pain potion yet?" Katia asked, "She looks like she could use one."

"No, not yet," Poppy said, grabbing a pain potion and handing it to the child who just looked at the potion skeptically. She didn't drink it, nor did she give it any notice while she set it aside.

"Why aren't you drinking it?" Severus sneered, forgetting that he was talking to an abused child. "Is it not the right colour?"

"No sir, not allowed medicine," Heather mumbled, "Once I was given medicine that looked like this. It made me throw up. It was bitter and hurt my stomach."

 _Damn muggles,_ Severus thought, _They poisoned her. At least her stomach wasn't injured at all- hopefully._

"Trust me, Heather, I'd rather be forced to eat my own eyeball than poison you."

"Promise?" She asked.

"I promise."

* * *

 **I apologize for not updating last week. I've been so busy with life. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll hopefully update in a week.**


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